Surat Passport Office bomb threat hoax sparks statewide panic

A bomb threat email warning of an RDX blast at Surat's Regional Passport Office proved to be a hoax, but was mistakenly forwarded to post offices across Gujarat, triggering panic and heightened security.

The Regional Passport Office in Surat on Friday received a bomb threat which turned out to be a hoax, but the e-mail was mistakenly forwarded to post offices across the state and caused panic, police said.

The Surat Passport Office received an e-mail at 5.55 am threatening that there would be an RDX blast on the premises at 12.10 pm and it should be evacuated, said Assistant Commissioner of Police V R Malhotra.

A team of Umra police station and the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad reached the spot but nothing suspicious was found, he said.

The email was originally received from an Outlook ID only at the Surat Passport Office, said Deputy Superintendent of Police Divyaprakash Gohil.

"Due to a misunderstanding, the entire state's post offices received the same bomb threat e-mail which led to panic situations and security was stepped up," he said.

The Surat RPO forwarded the email to the Surat police commissioner's office with Navsari Division Post Office in the CC, he said.